diff options
| author | buytenh <buytenh> | 2001-11-07 17:14:01 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | buytenh <buytenh> | 2001-11-07 17:14:01 +0000 |
| commit | d7f0c1b7a7fa15a3dbace8a2aa91e2fc040c111a (patch) | |
| tree | f40bd66512839694224ca85d62ab5c4d9b3944df | |
| parent | 1d79de4da01f79edf75eeee7882643de22b7b997 (diff) | |
| download | bridge-utils-d7f0c1b7a7fa15a3dbace8a2aa91e2fc040c111a.tar.gz | |
FAQ now located at sourceforge
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/FAQ | 80 |
1 files changed, 2 insertions, 78 deletions
@@ -1,80 +1,4 @@ -Hi, +The FAQ is now located at -If you have still unanswered questions after reading the HOWTO and the -FAQ, you have found a bug. Please report bugs to bridge@math.leidenuniv.nl + http://bridge.sourceforge.net/faq.html - -greetings, -Lennert Buytenhek - - - -Questions that were Asked Frequently enough to get listed here -============================================================== - - - -What does a bridge do? ----------------------- - A bridge transparently relays traffic between multiple network - interfaces. In plain English this means that a bridge connects two - or more physical ethernets together to form one bigger (logical) - ethernet. - - -Is it protocol independent? ---------------------------- - Yes. The bridge knows nothing about protocols, it only sees ethernet - frames. As such, the bridging functionality is protocol independent, - and there should be no trouble relaying IPX, NetBEUI, IP, IPv6, etc. - - -How is this bridging stuff different from a so-called 'switch'? ---------------------------------------------------------------- - It isn't. - - -Why is your code better than a switch? --------------------------------------- - First of all, my code wasn't written with the intent of having linux - boxen take over from dedicated networking hardware. Don't see the - linux bridging code as a replacement for switches, but rather as an - extension of the linux networking capabilities. Just like there are - situations where a linux router/dedicated brand router is better - than the other, there are situations where a linux bridge/dedicated - brand bridge is better than the other. - - Most of the power of the linux bridging code lies in its - flexibility. There is a whole lot of bizarre stuff you can do with - linux already (read the 2.4 Advanced Routing document at - http://ds9a.nl if you're interested), and the bridging code merely - adds some more possibilities for obfuscation into the mix. - - The most important uses for the linux bridge code I see as follows: - - Small bridges (up to 8 ports). - - Load sharing a server's traffic over multiple interfaces by - connecting sets of clients to different physical network - interfaces. - - A transparent firewall solution (using the ipchains/iptables - firewalling patch). - - -My bridge does not show up in traceroute! ------------------------------------------ - It is supposed not to. The operation of a bridge is (supposed to be) - fully transparent to the network, the networks that a bridge - connects together are actually to be viewed as one big - network. That's why the bridge does not show up in traceroute; the - packets do not feel like they are crossing a subnet boundary. - - For more information on this, read a book about TCP/IP networking. - - -Are there plans for MAC address filtering? ------------------------------------------- - You should be able to firewall on MAC addresses with the 2.4 - firewalling patch. iptables has the ability to filter on MAC - addresses, and the firewalling patch should add that capability to - the bridging code. I only released the first incarnation of the 2.4 - firewalling patch yesterday though, so don't expect this to be - stable yet. |